


A Wasteland Christmas

by Acacophony



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Gen2 Nick, Rejection, Romance, ace - Freeform, asexual Nick Valentine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-18 17:34:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8170141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acacophony/pseuds/Acacophony
Summary: Tess, the Sole Survivor, spends her first Christmas since she thawed out in Diamond City with her closest friend, and gets a little emotional.





	1. A Wasteland Christmas Eve

Tess sat on the tabletop, swinging her legs like a little kid as she watched Nick rummage through her cooler, in her home in Diamond City. Her dark skin, nearly as dark as a person could get, stood out sharply against the neon colored painting behind her. Her hair she’d had braided back into cornrows, to keep it out of her face when she was scavving. She had sprung for the new style yesterday, as a premature gift for herself. It was Christmas eve tonight.  
“You know,” She said as she watched him pull out a large brahmin roast and start to season it, “I really thought I would have Shaun back by now. I mean… it’s Christmas.” She sighed. It had only been a couple months since she’d gotten out of the vault, but she’d just assumed in the back of her mind that her first Christmas without Nate, at least she would have her son. 

Nick nodded in understanding. “I think all of us wanted to think that for you, but the Commonwealth isn’t always that generous.” He opened the door of her oven, and slid the roast in to cook. He didn’t bother to use pot holders. No need when he was made of metal and heat retardant plastic. It would take a few hours, but that was ok. Tess slid off of the table where she was sitting, and walked over to him, “You don’t have to cook for me, you know.” She said, setting one hand on her hip. Yes, she was changing the subject, but the truth was that she was upset and she just wanted to hide it. She didn’t want to think about the fact that the crib she’d built and gotten ready for Shaun was empty, or about the fact that it was just her and Nick here on Christmas eve with no other friends or family. Her friends were littered around the Commonwealth, helping out with various settlements. Piper was spending Christmas with Nat, and even Ellie was off with her family. It was just them. 

“I know,” He said,setting a wind up timer on the stove for an hour. “But I don’t mind doing it. I don’t know, maybe it helps me feel just a little more human.” He said. “Nick, the old Nick, always made Christmas dinner before the war.”  
Tess nodded, and then let it go at that, moving instead to her pantry to get a bottle of wine to open for the two of them. She privately wondered how much Nick really considered himself different from who he’d been before the war, because Tess really thought of them as the same man. “Well if you’re going to make the dinner, I’ll pour us the wine,” She said with a laugh. She produce a knife that she kept on her for basic utility, and stabbed the cork, getting it out.  
“Hey if you see a corkscrew in the the ruins, grab it for me,” She added with a grunt. It was a moment of struggling before the cork popped out.

“Will do,” Nick promised as he moved to sit on her couch and admire the effort Tess had put in to the decor. She had a christmas tree in the corner of her living area, and she had cobbled together some crude gifts to put underneath them. Some of them were wrapped up in cloth or old cigar boxes, but others weren’t. She had done her best to make it feel like christmas, even if it was just the two of them, and she’d done a good job. She had been staying in town the last couple days rather than scavenging, just doing shopping and decorating her home. She’d finished getting everything ready for Shaun, too. She had a crib, had collected toys, even had some old bottles she had washed and sterilized, all waiting for him. He pitied her, but he didn’t say so. She wouldn’t appreciate it, he knew that much. 

“Here you go,” She said, handing him a glass of wine with her sly smile. She really was a beautiful woman, with plump lips and and almond shaped eyes set against dark skin that just drew in the eye. She had some scars, sure, but they all did. He reached out and took the wine glass from her, his was only filled a little bit, but he didn’t mind. He couldn’t really appreciate much more than the most basic flavors, and it didn’t get him drunk, but he liked that she was sharing with him all the same, and she knew that. Tess raised her glass up to clink against his. “To friends,” She said. “To friends.” He agreed, taking a sip. 

-

The night wore on as they shared some stories and played a round of Blast Radius together. Nick won. She was always a hoot to be around, with smart ass remarks and a mouth that would suit a sailor far more than a devoted mother. It only got worse as she drank more too. Not for the first time, Nick was getting worried about her. Drinking was one of the more benign habits to have in the wasteland, and he sure as hell didn’t blame her after what she had been through, but she was a friend and he didn’t want to see her make herself sick. 

She finished that first bottle, and then opened a second. At the bottom of that second bottle, she had crossed through all the stages of drunkenness. Her intoxicated elation was far behind her, they had laughed like idiots, waxed poetic about the world, and now she was just curled up next to him on the couch sniffling about how alone she felt. “I know he’s probably dead by now,” She was saying “You know what they say, it’s the first 24 hours in a kidnapping that are the most important. After that… the person is probably dead,” She leaned on Nick’s shoulder, drinking right from the bottle now and taking a deep swig. It was almost empty. “But I just have to find out. I have to know what happened even if it kills me.” 

“Yeah…” he said, patting her shoulder with his more humanlike hand. “I hear ya,” He said. “I would have to know, too. I don’t think I could move on without it. Closure.”  
She nodded and sighed. “I’m sorry,” She said, drying her eyes on her sleeve. “I don’t usually let people see me like this.” She tried to pull herself together, to look strong again.  
“Don’t I know it,” Nick said, with a little bit of amazement in his voice. Tess wasn’t a woman who let people see her feeling weak. No one but him, that was. He’d be lying if he wasn’t a little bit in awe of that. “Hell, not even the bombs could shake you. But I think it’s probably good for you to stop and let yourself grieve. Consider me flattered that you’re willing to do it in front of me.” He gave her a reassuring, small smile.

Deep brown eyes met his, and small hands slid up his chest, “I’m glad you’re here, actually,” She said. “I just… I don’t want to be alone, Nick.” Her breath smelled strongly of alcohol. He could calculate her blood alcohol level easily just from that if he wanted to, but he didn’t bother. Nick already knew she’d had a lot. Too much to be putting the moves on him, that was for sure. He felt those hands gather up fistfulls of his shirt, and he looked down and realized that his friend was starting to spill over from her spot on the couch, into his lap.  
“I don’t think I follow you, doll.” He lied. He followed her perfectly. Too well, in fact. Nick knew what she wanted and he couldn’t give it to her, especially not when she was drunk.

Tess rolled her eyes for just a moment. “Come on,” She said. “Tonight, just this once. What do you say?” She asked. “I just… I miss that human comfort, and I want someone I trust.” She began to untuck his shirt from his trousers, trying to get it loose enough for her to slide her hands up underneath it. “What’s a little romp, between friends?” Her voice was low, and the sound it seemed to caress his body more than her hands were.  
His hands caught hers and held them in place before she could try to crawl under his clothes. The metal digits of his broken hand dug into her skin a little bit, but he didn’t mean to. “You’re drunk.” He accused flatly. “For one thing, I’m not even human.” She let him stop her hands and met his glowing eyes again with a small frown. “You’re human enough for me,” She said firmly. It was true, too, but she supposed she didn’t really expect him to believe it. Not when she was wasted and sad and lonely, and he had his own issues with the subject

“Tess. I think you should go lie down,” he said firmly. “I can’t even do what you want me to do,” he told her. Like the Gen2 synths, he lacked the reproductive equipment of a human. He didn’t really mind. Even old Nick before the war had always been pretty ambivalent about sex. He just preferred the emotional closeness to actual physical fulfillment, so it wasn’t a big deal to him. He’d always thought he was a strange man, until he’d found a woman who loved him just as he was, asexuality and all. “And even if I could, I wouldn’t.” He went on. “You’ve had two bottles of wine all to yourself.” It wasn’t like there hadn’t been sparks between them, even he would admit that, but she was in no state of mind to actually know if this was what she wanted. And what with him not being able to get drunk at all, it would just feel too much like he was taking advantage. Even with her laying in his lap and practically begging him. 

She frowned, but gathered up her dignity. “Fine,” She said, pulling away rather suddenly. She sounded cold, but he could see the tears she was fighting off as she scurried from his presence. He reached over and picked up a lighter and a cigarette from her coffee table, saying nothing more. She disappeared from view, climbing up the ladder to where her bed was, up in the loft. What a way to spend a christmas night, he griped to himself. Someday, when she was sober and had a chance for all this to blow over, he might ask her how serious she was. He liked her, but… it seemed like his was just a warm body to soothe a lonely night. 

His keen ears picked up the sound of her crying quietly into her pillow, and he cursed to himself under his breath. He didn’t want to hurt her. Nick sucked on his cigarette, trying to pretend he couldn’t hear it. It broke his heart a little bit. 

Maybe someday, it could be different.


	2. A Wasteland Christmas Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The following day, Tess has to face Nick after being rejected. And they exchange presents.

Tess woke the following morning with a splitting headache. She grunted and rolled over, slamming the snooze button on her Wakemaster alarm clock. Christmas Day. She didn’t want to get out of bed. No baby, no husband, no family. Not even a warm body next to hers to make getting up in the morning feel little less miserable. Downstairs, she knew Nick was waiting. He didn’t eat or sleep, and he’d likely been up all night reading some of the pre-war books she’d salvaged from the library, or else thinking about one of his cases. She didn’t want to face him. 

It was a long time before she dragged herself out of bed and threw on her plush, blue robe. Hunger eventually drove her to do what pure willpower could not. She picked her way down the wooden ladder in bare feet, and turned the corner, stopping when she saw Nick on the other side of the house, sitting in a plush chair. She had brought it in from the wasteland and restored it carefully, along with most of the rest of her furniture. Tess had never imagined herself as a carpenter, but there was a certain extent to which you had to be, out here. Lucky she had plenty of caps from scavving, and there was no shortage of help in Diamond City.

“Goodmorning, doll,” Valentine said, glancing up from his book. He thought she was never going to come down to see him at that rate, but he was glad she had. She might have felt embarrassed about the night before, but she really didn’t need to be. Nick understood loneliness. Boy did he ever. His keen optics watched as she stumbled down and began to make herself some coffee. She didn’t indulge very often, it was hard to get out here, but it was Christmas. “Want anything?” She asked, grabbing a mutfruit to eat for breakfast.   
“No thank you,” He answered politely. 

Tess walked over and sat not in a chair, but on the rug next to the christmas tree, using her chair as a back rest. She sipped her coffee and looked at the ramshackle presents. “Guess we should open these, huh?” She said with a smile. Anything to avoid talking about his rejection the night before, but it was also Christmas. “Here,” She added, “This one is for you.”  
Nick set the book aside, and she watched as he leaned over, showing surprise on his synthetic face. He took it with his damaged, skeletal hand, feeling the weight of the box. “You didn’t have to do that.” He said. 

The beautiful woman across from him gave a calm smile. “I wanted to,” She said. “I mean… you’re the best friend I’ve had in a long time. And I don’t just mean since waking up in the vault, either.” She felt her heart flutter, but she just left it at that. Now wasn’t the time to discuss her budding crush. She was a grown up, she could swallow it all, anyway. 

Nick smiled a genuine smile. “You know, I feel the same way.” He wanted to give her that much. He began to unwrap the gift, which was fastened with twine and had cloth around it. It was a simple cardboard box inside, which he opened to find something amazing. A new hat. This one was in really good condition, practically untouched by the bombs, it seemed.   
“Wow,” he said, genuinely impressed. “Thanks.” He reached up and took his off his head, swapping it out for the old one. 

Tess leaned forward a little bit, in that moment getting to see what he looked like, bald headed, with holes leading into his skull, and she could see the clockwork like inner workings of his mind. She smiled when he put it on and then turned his head, as if posing for her. “How do I look?” He asked with a joking tone.  
“Like a grouchy old bastard,” She didn’t miss a beat, smirking as she made a friendly jab at him.   
She turned to grab the gift she had gotten for herself, and paused, looking down at one of them which had appeared in the night. 

“Who brought this?” She picked up the delicately wrapped bundle, which felt like cloth inside.   
“Santa claus,” Nick grunted, with a mostly concealed smile. “He came in last night and complained that you don’t have a chimney.”  
That earned him a look, with one of Tess’s lopsided smiles where one corner of her mouth came up just a little more than the other. It was a cute quirk of hers, and one he loved. 

“Uh-huh, sure,” She said, sounding unconvinced. She carefully opened up the parcel, and what she saw made her freeze. “Oh… Nick…” She said, her tone half wonder and half something he couldn’t identify. Spilling out of the parcel and into her hands was a dark charcoal gray fabric embroidered with so many sequins that it shone. The twinkling lights of the christmas tree gave it a lustrous, golden quality as they were reflected off of the garment. “It’s beautiful…” The dress had a matching chiffon neckline. She stood up, holding it up to her body. 

Tess wondered where he had even found such a thing. Dresses weren’t really her thing, but she was hardly going to turn down such a lovely gift, especially when he had clearly gone out in the night to get it for her. She briefly wondered if he had gotten it ahead of time. Why, though?   
“I’m going to go and try it on,” She told him, moving to her bathroom and closing the door.   
Tess slid out of her pajamas, and pulled on a bra, before pulling her dress on right over the top of it. She didn’t have a mirror, but she took care to smooth out the edges. It fit her like a glove.   
She wondered how that could possibly be. Tess almost always had clothes tailored to fit her, before the war. She was a small woman, tiny in frame and also short in stature. Most people didn’t notice her size because of her fierce personality, but finding clothes could still be difficult. Especially in the wasteland. 

She pulled the dress off and turned it inside out, searching the seams for signs of tailoring. It took a moment to find what she was looking for, but she did anyway. A criss cross stitch where the dress had been taken in, and she was pretty sure she knew who had done it. Becky Fallon. She’d had the woman alter clothes for her before and seen this very stitch.   
Tess looked at the dress in wonder. There was no way Nick had bothered Becky on Christmas Eve, late at night, to do this. So that settled it, he must have been planning this. Her heart thumped, and she felt pleasantly warm. It was sweet, whether the gesture was romantic or not, but she certainly hoped it was. 

Tess slipped back into the dress and then carefully arranged her braids so that they weren’t tangled together. She finally came out, unable to help but chuckle when Nick shot a wisecrack her way. “Finally,” he said, “I was starting to think you’d slipped and fallen,” He looked up, and met her eyes. 

There was a moment where neither of them said anything, and then Nick’s eyes slid down her body bit by bit. “Damn,” he said. “You look great in that.”   
Tess smiled, and moved to sit across from him. The glimmering of the sequins made her look like flowing water. 

“Tell Santa thank you,” She told him.


End file.
